November 2002

Edible

Pot up chives, thyme and rosemary to use in cooking over the winter.

Mulch strawberries with 2-4 inches of straw before temperatures drop below 20°F.

Recycle your food scraps. Try indoor worm composting – a great winter project for kids. Call 773-233-0476 for information on putting a worm bin together or check out our web site The Adventures of Herman the Worm.

Place a loose cylinder of hardware cloth around the trunk base of young trees to prevent mouse or rabbit gnawing.

Have your soil tested. The Cook County Farm Bureau has a new soil testing program. Call 708-354-3276 for a soil testing kit. University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners will be available to help you interpret your soil test results.

Ornamental

Trees & shrubs should be well watered going into the cold weather. This is especially important for pines, yews and rhodendrons. Evergreens should receive at least one inch of water every two weeks through rainfall or irrigation as long as the ground isn't frozen.

Fertilize lawns for a final time after the last mowing usually in November. University research has shown that late fall fertilization instead of early spring fertilization can minimize disease problems, promote color retention in the fall and encourage early green-up in the spring.

Begin giving Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus short days and cool nights to initiate flowering. Holiday cacti are short day plants. They will bloom when nights are at least 15 hours long. No flowers will form at night temperatures above 70°F.

Visit a local Christmas tree farm to cut your own tree. A list of farms available by calling 773-233-0476 or check the Christmas Trees & More website.

Choose the perfect Christmas tree:

• Buy trees early from retail lots. Many of these trees were cut weeks earlier and may have been exposed to drying winds in transit.
• Decide on where tree will be placed. Will it be seen from all sides or will some of it be up against a wall? If it is displayed against a wall, then a tree with three good sides would be okay.
• Measure the height and width of the space where the tree will be placed.
• Tree needles should be flexible and not fall off if you run a branch through your hand. Raise the tree a few inches off the ground and drop it on the butt end. Green needles should not drop off the tree.
• Make sure the handle or base of tree is straight and 6-8 inches long so it will fit into a stand.

Keep your Christmas tree fresh:

• Store the tree in an unheated garage or some area out of the wind. Make a fresh, one inch cut on the butt end and place tree in a warm bucket of water until you‚re ready to put it up.
• Just before you bring the tree indoors, make another fresh one inch cut and place the tree in a study stand that holds at least 1/2 gallon of water. A good rule of thumb is one quart of water for every inch of diameter of the trunk.
• Keep the water level above the base of tree. If base dries out resin will form and the tree will not absorb water. Research has shown plain water will keep a tree fresh. Commercially prepared mixes, aspirin or sugar are not necessary.

Do not fertilize houseplants until next April unless using supplemental lights.